Rarely Written letter (Reply)

Hey there anon! This is so rad — we have a character and fandom in common! I am really, really excited to read the fic you write and learn how the character(s) we share live in your heart and mind. Thank you in advance for the time, energy, and labor you spend on this fic. As a fandom participant who does not create nearly as much as I would like, I am acutely aware of how precious that time is.

I realize some folks feel boxed in by letters and others (like me) are really eager to read the thoughts and feelings of their recipient to help prompt or shape the eventual fic. If you’re in the former category, I’ll do my best to keep the essentials concise, and you can skip the more detailed fandom and character sections.

In a nutshell: canon-consistent characterization = yay! Deviating from canon anywhere else? Fantastic! Strongly prefer exploring relationships between women. Furthermore, you can femslash anyone on this list and I’d be giddy. I adore gen as well though, so write what sounds fun. The few het pairings I enjoy are mentioned with the relevant character(s) below, but I strongly prefer het to exist within poly relationships (het ok, monogamy ok, but not together).

— non-sexual mentor relationships, friendships! found family and unique family formations, bonding across significant differences, identity issues!, competing desires, power dynamics, explicit and enthusiastic consent! Negotiation — characters expressing want, setting boundaries, conversing and contemplating how those desires can (or cannot) be met within their relationship, and if you’re gonna write fluff there better be fluffy animal (or ok they don’t have to be fluffy — dragons, tardigrades, orcas, etc. etc. etc. are cool too).

Non-sequitur!squees if you’re looking for a “what would happen if” situation, like “Character A” goes to (fill in the blank) — I really dig baseball and opera. Send anyone to a baseball game (go Giants!) or the Opera.

Relatedly, although pregnancy is sometimes included with body horror, it is a non-issue for me? The trope is not high on the list of my interests, but it is also totally cool if that’s your jam and you want to run with it.

If you want to deal with -isms, like racism, sexism, homophobia, ablism, transphobia, classism, etc. and how the characters respond, negotiate, resist, that’s ok — I just expect the characters impacted are given agency and the fic frames the -ism as unjust.

Ok so you may have sensed this already, but because I don’t write as nearly as much as I would like… I tend to get extra wordy in my letters. Oooh also you may have noticed one of my interests is negotiation! There’s a good chance you may like some of my ideas, but dislike others. The dear-author letter is totally fandom negotiation. Take what you like! Leave what you don’t. But by all means — have fun!

P.S. The length of paragraphs =/= preference or desire for one character more than another. I love all of these characters and shows! Just running short on time to adequately flail/prompt and some flail seems less potentially useful.

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

I adore this show. It really lives in my heart and in its essence, meets some of my most treasured needs in a television show. First, Phryne is a powerful, brilliant, clever and competent woman committed to pursuing justice. She’s surrounded by a delightful and diverse circle of friends who both challenge and support her (and she them). She’s not monogamous! She takes pleasure in her many dalliances — and some are more casual than others! As with several other fandoms listed below, I am wary of applying contemporary labels of sexuality or relationship models onto her various relationships, but Phryne is clear that she will not commit to monogamy and that is enough for me. And while I am an unapologetically slutty multi-shipper at heart, I am continually captivated by the slow-burn of Phryne’s romantic intrigue with Jack.

Even with my interest in Phryne/Jack (or Phrack), my real love for this show is how Phryne builds a family with the people around her. I adore narratives that explore maternal or mentorship dynamics, so I was pretty much 100% on board when Phryne adopted Jane and took on Dot as her companion. Oh gods, and Mac! She’s so effortlessly suave and sensitive and kind.

I love that Phryne is friends with avowed communists, cabbies Bert and Cecil. And Mr. Butler! The Butler! Who is so sweetly nurturing with everyone Phryne brings home. I also love the dynamic between Jack and Hugh, who so completely idolizes Jack and is such a puppy dog. I cannot even. How so great show?!

I am also somewhat obsessed with the 1920s fashion and interior design. I don’t imagine your fic will include paper dolls, but if you enjoy digging into details like that, please do! It’s really not a requirement, however, so don’t feel pressured to do so if it just isn’t your thing.

Fave!Ships Phryne+everyone? She’s quick to love and they love her right back. For this reason, I am always open to shipping Phryne or anyone else on the show with anyone else… more specifically: Phryne/Dot, Phryne/Mac, Phryne/Jack, OT4 Phryne/Jack/Hugh/Dot? OT3 Phryne/Jack/Mac?! OT3 Phryne/Mac/Dot! [Kink so completely welcome here, but again, not required!]

Friend!Ships Um everyone? But I am partial to the relationships between women.

Crossovers: A crossover with the Bletchley Circle or Agent Carter would be very welcome.

AUsScience-fiction elements may play well? Particularly with the fairly recent advent of electricity, radio, and movies.

Phryne Fisher One question mark that fascinates me about Phryne is her emotional landscape, I feel like I understand it because Essie Davis is such an amazing actor, but a lot of it is never really spelled out. Particularly in relation to Jack, but with many other members of her alternative family, like Mac and Dot. At times, I am sometimes too eager to apply my own inner workings out of hedonistic affinity or aspirational identification (emphasis on “aspirational” here), but ultimately I feel like that gets in the way of really investigating Phryne’s inner psyche. An important note about her relationships — I really really do not want a fic where 1920s (or older) Phryne declares herself monogamously committed to anyone; this includes Jack.Oooh one other thing! I absolutely love cars, trains, planes, etc. The show has been very very good to me on this front. Phryne also lends herself well to any manner of scrapes and capers. Seriously, go nuts.

Dorothy “Dot” Williams My favorite thing about Dot is how she has really grown and changed under Phryne’s tutelage. I feel like we’ve had glimpses of that, but it would be great to explore more from Dot’s POV. Dot was afraid of the telephone! I love that so much. But just one season/year later, she’s tailoring a fan-dancing costume for Phryne! So risqué! Dot has also grown to be so invested in her relationship with Phryne. I love that what she wants for her life has changed because she changed. Even in the most gen/non-femslashy reading, there is something so wonderful about Dot committing to both her relationship with Phryne and her relationship with Hugh. The Dot in the Pilot would not have been able to conceptualize that, let alone speak up for it.What was Dot’s relationship with her sister like growing up? When did they grow apart? How has their relationship grown or deepened or shifted since Dot’s sister’s revelation? And we’ve never met Dot’s mother! What does she think about Dot living with Phryne? How much does she know? How does Dot feel about some of the risqué things that Phryne has had her do? Has her perspective changed over time? Where is her bedroom?! Does she ever hear Phryne having sex?! How far has she gone with Hugh? How far would she go? How does this impact her religious beliefs and practices? Has she asked or wanted to ask Phryne about birth control?

Elizabeth MacMillan Mac is such a fascinating character who has had so little screen time and story on the show, so basically anything you want to write that fleshes out some aspect of her character past, present, or future, would be amazing. Where does she go to pick up women? Has she ever had a girlfriend who didn’t get murdered? Is she friends with other lesbians in Melbourne? Why did she go to Med school? What type of challenges has she faced with her career? What was she doing during WWI? Does she have family? Are they around? What were her growing-up years like?How did she and Phryne meet? Are they exes? I have it in my head that they were exes and that Mac is about a decade older than Phryne. Do they still hook up? (I think they do, but all of this is negotiable, obvs). And how does she like to have sex? Who tailors her suits? Does Mac take Phryne out as her wingman when they go out to lesbian bars?

The Bletchley Circle

Fave!Ships: Millie/Susan FOREVERRRRR. “Part of me has always felt that I’m running after you, trying to catch the train.” What if Susan caught the train?! Let Susan catch the goddamn train. Dear gods, this ship. After I watched Season 2, I swear, I would be falling asleep and then just cry out, “Millieeee, Susan whyyyyyy?!!!” Past, future, time!travel, fix-it, anything is welcome here. But I have enough angst to last me for miles, so if you’re going to follow the angst route, add enough bits of sweetness to carry me along?

Friend!ships: everyone. all the time. friendssss. I love everyone on this show. Period.

Case!fic: I prefer fun murder, ala Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, less grizzly details but just as much corruption and intrigue. That said, I *adore* the type of problem-solving that comes with Bletchley Circle and their skills in code breaking. There’s this beautiful dynamic where every woman is so highly skilled, each brings her unique approach, but they also work collaboratively. Working collaboratively is a narrative kink of mine I think?? It’s just such a myth we always work better alone. And this myth is particularly egregious when discussing either “genius” or “science,” so brilliant women working collaboratively with a methodical and technical aptitude? Yes please!

Crossovers: Any sort of crossover with Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries or Agent Carter would be very welcome — as would a crossover with Sarah Waters’ “Night Watch,” which I looooove.

Susan Gray Oh I love Susan SO MUCH! Her mind just never stops. “Never Be Ordinary” who was Susan during her time at Bletchley? There’s obviously a piece of her that she left buried in her past with Millie. Though, it doesn’t feel as though it’s purely because they had a romance (they totally did), or because of the code-breaking, but because there was a part of herself that she shared with Millie that there is no space for in her life as a wife and mother. Who is that Susan? How did she live at Bletchley? She dreamt of adventures by train! What else did dream of? What else did Susan want for herself? I’d… also be really open to a new ending for Susan, either she returns from India or Millie visits her in India or she never left at all.

Millie Millie is so brave and adventurous, but also feels so deeply. In every arc, her compassion and empathy for the women involved becomes this driving force behind her pursuit of justice. With her friends, you really see it in how she cares for Lucy. But, of course, the part that really gets to me is her long-standing affection and heartbreak over Susan. Unlike Susan, Millie is never at risk of falling into a heteronormative life. She continues to seek out adventures. Her apartment and her trade in perfume attest to that. What are her next adventures? Does she ever visit Susan in India? Or does she move on entirely? I would love a happy ending for Susan and Millie. I would also be delighted to see Millie meet Phryne Fisher (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) who is very simpatico.

Jean McBrien I love how Jean is so sweetly protective of the team. Her managing style is strict but also really maternal? The more I think about it though, we really never have quite the same level of backstory and characterization with Jean as we do with the other members of the Circle. In my head!canon, I’ve wondered if she’s asexual or even queer, and if you go that direction, perhaps she visits 1940s/50s underground lesbian clubs? Regardless, I’d love to have a fuller picture of Jean’s life. How she processed (or didn’t) her S2 injury? I don’t feel as though I have a sense of how she thinks, quite like we do with Susan, Millie or Lucy.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Mirror!Universe, Holosuite adventures or errors, Future!fic, time travel fic, everyone is a giant poly family, everyone is a found family but without the part where they all hook-up, so many things! Just no more war. I’m done with war and this show. Rebuilding and reconstruction and the fragile steps forward? Definitely! Flashback fic to various occupations? Yup. But like… ugh the Dominion and open battle are just exhausting beyond reward at this point.

Fave ships: Kira Nerys/Jadzia Dax = OTP forever and ever and ever, but I also dig Kira+O’Briens (co-parenting or a V-triad where Miles O’Brien/Kira Nerys doesn’t happen cuz), while Kasidy/Ezri and Kasidy/Nerys really work for me post-finale (hell, Kasidy/Nerys/Ezri is also golden)

Friend!ships: Everyone loves everyone and they’re all family in one way or another, but that doesn’t mean it’s all fluff all the time and they still have individual struggles to navigate about identity and culture and what-do-these-feelings-mean-about-me-or-you-or-anything, and this is a fun place I like to visit *a lot* as well.

Kink: I’ve always enjoyed fic where the mirror!universe = kinky universe and our!universe = vanilla land; but considering the mirror!universe has pretty terrible bdsm ethics, I’ve always wondered about what it would look like if our characters practiced RACK (risk-aware-consensual-kink) as a foil to the mirror!universe’s more abusive dynamics, or simply as communities with different kink codes of behavior and expectation. This is… not really expected? I’m just kind of brainstorming here.

Crossovers with other Treks (not Enterprise), totally welcome, but DS9 has so much going for it, I’d hate for it to be overshadowed?

Kira Nerys: Kira Nerys teaching ~anyone~ to make proper hasperat or raktajinos. Maybe they’re out camping? So there’s no replicator? Kira Nerys laughing is like, the sweetest thing ever. She has so much pain and so much joy, and I love exploring those places within her equally (though differently). Stories from the occupation. Stories of rebuilding after the occupation but before DS9. Kira Nerys taking lovers during the occupation. Kira Nerys visiting a (new) mirror!verse where the occupation didn’t happen and her mother raised her. Kira Nerys and the Intendant get Freaky Friday’d — or just literally get swapped because of a dastardly plan by the Intendant.Kira Nerys raises a baby with Kasidy Yates, writes old fashioned letters to Odo, and falls madly in love with Ezri Dax. Kira Nerys goes on an adventure with Vash to recover an Orb lost for centuries.

Jadzia Dax: AUs where she is still alive are completely welcome, no joke. AUs where she and Worf have an open relationship and she is also with Kira Nerys, totes cool! I am shamelessly invested in Kira/Dax, so feel free to go there. Jadzia is so adventurous and creative, I would love to see more of her visits to the holosuite with Kira Nerys, or travels around the Alpha quadrant. I also really loved the moments where she was truly challenged to grow — either by developing a skill or by accepting a part of herself (like with Joran).

I love all of the details we learned about Trill society and culture, particularly around symbionts, but I also feel like there are a lot of questions! What sort of cultural framework did Trill society develop around space and space exploration? When did Jadzia know she wanted to join Starfleet? What was her relationship to space exploration like before she was joined vs. after? How did it feel for her? What does she see when she looks into the cosmos?

Ezri Dax I like Ezri’s enthusiasm, bravery and commitment to people she cares about. I mean she’s a Dax. But I wasn’t thrilled with what they did with her character and I didn’t really buy her attraction to Julian either. It felt like the show didn’t know what to do with either one of them so they smooshed them together. If you want to keep Ezri/Julian together, use it as a lens to access who she is and what she wants. Show me who Ezri is to you. How did she became the woman she was before she was joined? Or what she wants for herself now that she’s joined? Maybe Ezri in the future when her relationship with the symbiont is more balanced… or how about Ezri going through her Zhian'tara? Who plays each of the past Dax’s? What does she need to know or hear from each of them? Or with Jadzia, had they ever met on Trill?

Kasidy Yates SPACE PIRATE. OK so not exactly, but sort of? She has a ship that she sails around space delivering goods from one place to another and she deals with bandits and other dangers in the open cosmos, so the fact that she’s operating a legit enterprise shouldn’t be held against her here (SPACE PIRATE!). Space Pirate adventures are A-OK by me, particularly if you can somehow arrange Kira Nerys and/or Jadzia Dax to somehow go along for the ride.

On a more serious note — what is her life like after Benjamin moves on to spend time with the wormhole aliens? She has a baby! And Jake got left behind too! And Kira Nerys got left behind but is also in charge of the station! And, let’s be real, Nerys is still mourning Jadzia. But there’s a baby and an Ezri and their lives are moving on and how does Kasidy move forward? Do they play baseball to remember and honor Benjamin (oh my gosh I love baseball and baseball on this show — in spite of Benjamin stating it’s linear *weeps*) Kasidy hanging out (or hooking up) with any of the women on DS9 is totally fantastic.

Winn Adami: Oh my gosh. I have so many complicated feelings about Winn Adami. It’s hard for me to remember how much I was frustrated with her throughout the majority of the show, when I am so incredibly preoccupied by how upset I (still) am about her end of series character arc. Is there a trope I hate more than when the ambitious, power-hungry woman finds her comeuppance through romantic deception and betrayal? Possibly? But it’s hard to think of one at the moment. It’s OK if you disagree! In that case, just avoid her final arc?

What made her so driven to become Kai? Surely there are other avenues to power within Bajoran society — why religious life? She often seemed lonely. Did she have friends in her life or only political allies? What were her teen years like? What was she doing during the occupation? What was her relationship like with Kai Opaka?

I’d also be really interested to see her interact more with Kira Nerys. I always loved that Kira seemed to push Winn Adami to a place of uncomfortable vulnerability. You could tell because Winn would always dig her heels in and lash out. What is Winn Adami afraid of? Can she ever learn from Kira Nerys? Can she ever be truly intimate with another person and trust them? (Obviously not Dukat). AUs of Bajoran occupation where Kira and Winn interacted are welcome here. Winn Adami seems to keep herself apart from other people and avoids true intimacy. What’s her damage? Does she find comfort in her religious life as well as power?

Agent Carter:

I am complete trash for Cartinelli. No joke. I also love Steggy, but I am dubious they could have ever had time to properly get it on. I’m just saying, he’s Captain America, but he can’t stop time. OK wow that is a tangent. Future!fic, time-travel, and crossovers particularly welcome here (ship!fic too). Crossovers: A crossover with Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries or the Bletchley Circle would be very welcome.

Peggy Carter: Oh Peggy *heartpupils* She knows her value I love everything about her. I love that she gives people an opportunity to do the right thing, but when they don’t believe her or take her seriously or XYZ reason sexism, she quickly adapts and takes care of the problem herself. I love how she’s speaks directly and clearly with everyone, whether or not they respect her or she is likely to be heard. She doesn’t silence her own voice and that is really, really awesome but also really, really attractive. She’s incredibly honest and forthright but also kind and expects that level of compassion from the people around her.

I love that in the shadow of Steve’s absence, she’s found camaraderie with Jarvis and companionship with Angie (very much in spite of herself). How did she invite Angie to live with her? Where were they in their relationship? Do they have lunches with Anna and Edwin Jarvis? Does she go to the theatre with Angie and pick apart the staging and performances?She’s also constantly in motion or when she is still, she has friends and colleagues around. Who is she to herself when she’s alone? Can she get out of her head? Or is it all still about Steve? How does she continue to love and mourn Steve, live with his memory, over the course of her life?

I love her incredible suits and fashion and that while wearing impeccable clothing she is just a total brawler and can take down anyone and anything with whatever resources are near at hand.And she’s brilliant!!! She is technically skilled and served in the military… does she know Grace Hopper? Maybe? Relatedly, I’m really into pairing Peggy with technology and computers (past, present or future Peggys). What happens between her time in SSR and the formation of SHIELD? I am not sure how helpful this all is, but I kind of just love everything about her and want more of her anywhere you want to go?!

Angie Martinelli: So much to love here. I’m convinced Angie Martinelli’s superpower is that she is an excellent judge of character. She works in a diner and she’s an actor, who therefore explores the inner lives of people and their relationships. She understood everything about Peggy and what Peggy needed from very beginning, from very very limited interaction. Her superpower is reading people and a high emotional intelligence.

Angie seems like the kind of woman who could be completely head over heels for Peggy (Cartinelli shipping not required but would be very appreciated) and also have fantastic relationships with a lot of female friends. She’s someone who can balance that.

OK so how did Angie become interested in acting? What does she love about acting? Does this connect with her interest in Peggy and Peggy’s double-lives? Which actors does she love? Does she have thoughts on theatre and film? Does Peggy ever see Angie perform in a show? Can Angie sing and dance?

I am 100% committed to Angie Martinelli, 1940s bisexual. Did she have relationships with anyone else at the Griffith Hotel? How does she think of these encounters and relationships? How does the way she categorizes this part of her life compare to the feelings she experiences through these relationships? For example, does she call this a single woman’s dalliance, but feel uncontrollably compelled to deepen these relationships? Or is she aware of her desires and own her identity? It was not unusual in the 30s and 40s for actors (of all genders) to believe they would be more well-rounded and agile in their performances if they experienced relationships with both men and women (*cough* I have read some books on the subject… 1930s and 1940s actor RPF FTW!). Was Angie inspired by this methodology? Or did it start there and go somewhere else?

What is Angie’s family like? I am Italian-American and would be super interested to see Angie’s Italian family. I would guess that all generations live together? It must be very unusual for Angie to live on her own. I imagine the Griffith Hotel was an acceptable compromise because of the rules about curfew. How does her family feel about her living with Peggy at Howard Stark’s estate? Does her family hold Sunday dinners? Maybe Peggy attends one night to meet the family?

And of course, what is it like for Peggy and Angie to live together in the Stark mansion?!!

Anna Jarvis: Hello, I love her and we’ve never truly met. Who is she? What was her life like in Budapest before the war? Did she like working at a tailors? How did things change when the war began? What was it like when she met Jarvis? How did they fall in love? Could they be open with their affection anywhere or did they always have to play things close to the vest? What was it like for her to move to New York? Who are her friends? How does she spend her days when Jarvis is doing things for Howard Stark? What does she want for herself? For her life in New York? What does she long for from Budapest? What is her relationship with Judaism like? Has it changed in interesting or meaningful ways throughout her experiences in the war? Does she have community? Did she know anyone in New York? Where are her family? Please please please let there be at least someone from her family that is alive and in touch with her. I cannot bear it if everyone in her family but Anna Jarvis escaped, when she was able to escape because of who she loved. I would really really love to hear about Anna Jarvis’s relationships with women in her life — family or friends.

Maleficent (coming soon)

Maleficent

Aurora

Grimm since it is now past sign-up deadline and no one offered to write this, I’m going to simply leave these names here for posterity. There are many exciting characters above, anyhow. So much love for all for Juliette Silverton, Kelly Burkhardt, and Rosalie Calvert.